Gallery hoppers, Spotify stalkers, bookworms, Letterboxd users and anyone who enjoys art, this is the place for you. Makes Ya Feel highlights art across all of its mediums, small and large-scale, that (you guessed it) makes ya feel!
The fall flies quickly in Vermont. Before you know it the leaves are gone, the days are darker and the Adirondack chairs are removed in preparation for the first snow. And while winter may seem to be creeping upon us, there are still some leaves that have yet to turn from yellow to red.
Maybe it’s the senior in me, but I’ve found that music has been the best way for me to remember that it’s not all over, just yet. So, here are a few songs that have been soundtracking my fall, and reminding me to stay present.
New on the docket: Cobra by Geese
Geese is a Brooklyn-based band that recently gained traction when frontman Cameron Winter released his solo album “Heavy Metal” in Dec. 2024. Before Winter moved audiences with his aching lyrics and noisy instrumentals, Geese was considered a cult favorite. The band formed back in 2016 while the band members were still in high school and developing their sound.
Their new album “Getting Killed”— released this past September — has been described by Pitchfork as their “most singularly idiosyncratic music [that] arrives to their largest audience yet.” The album contains Winter’s drawling voice reminiscent of their earlier music, but the production feels more mature — they are hitting their stride.
While there are so many songs to choose from, “Cobra” seems to be a fan favorite. It is a song about temptation, used through the metaphor of the cobra to charm the speaker’s love interest. Beyond that, it’s a song that feels warm: You can sink your teeth into it and linger for a second. The crunchy guitar interludes sound almost like humming. It’s one of the more gentler songs on the album, but also maintains that classic Geese mix of playfulness and despair.
A classic in the rotation: It’s Always You by Chet Baker
Chet Baker is a West Coast pioneer of 50s cool jazz; with his trumpet as his guide, he has created compositions that exude warmth. Initially popular for his instrumentals, his debut vocal album “Chet Baker Sings” quickly became a classic, specifically within the LBGTQ+ community.
“My Funny Valentine” and “I Fall in Love Too Easily” are the most popular tracks on the album, the former becoming Baker’s signature song that he frequently performed in concerts. But the song that has always been a staple of any fall playlist is “It’s Always You.”
It’s warm jazz that shines in its simplicity; lyrics that are gentle, instrumentals that tickle all the right parts of your ears and Baker’s calming voice. He gives the song that was written for the 1941 film “Road to Zanzibar” an entirely new sound.
Of course, his signature trumpet appears in a lovely instrumental break. It unwinds your knots and seamlessly guides you to the next verse where Baker muses, “If a breeze caresses me, it’s really you strolling by.” It’s the kind of song that wraps you up and lets you stay for a second.
A fun walk in the park: Sugar Water by Cibo Matto
Japanese-born duo Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda formed Cibo Matto when they met in 1994 in New York City. Their Italian name translates to “food matter” and their music blends hip-hop, electronic and surrealism.
“Sugar Water” is one of their songs that represents their sound, and name, exceptionally well. The song opens with the alluring, siren-sounding “oohs” that are overlaid on a stable drum beat. The lyrics reflect the band’s playful nature: “I’m riding on a camel,” “The buildings are changing into coconut trees.”
The chorus of the song features trance-like “la la la’s” that make you feel like you’re suspended in space. In classic Cibo Matto nature, they never leave you floating in the psychedelic sound for too long; re-grounding the song by returning to a steady beat.
The song gives you a breather from those hazy, more obscured emotions and just lets you be. Which, in my book, is always what I’m looking for as the days get darker and colder. It’s the perfect reminder that you can still have some fun, no matter how hard the wind is hitting your face.
Sounds like wearing a scarf: Memory Pools by Foxes in Fiction
“Memory Pools” is one of those songs that you keep forgetting about. It gets buried in your playlists and left at the bottom of your liked songs, but every time you rediscover it, it sounds even better than it did the last time.
I’ve been listening to this song for about four years now, and without fail, I always let go of it. And yet, I seem to rediscover it right when the leaves are turning. It’s a song that is mainly instrumental; dreamy with a jingly tambourine to keep you centered. The guitar is perfectly noisy and the vocals are beautifully indistinguishable. It’s the kind of song you can melt right into.
There is no better way to describe it than equivalent to putting on a scarf. One of those things you forget about, but when you pull it out of wherever it’s been hiding for the past six months and dust it off, it’s all you can think about. Different pieces of this song are stuck in my head each day, and I enjoy returning to the full song so I can hear the entire picture it creates.
Last week, I took my favorite striped scarf out of my closet and set it next to my coat. This week, I’m tucking this song into my back pocket to carry me through this season and into the next.
Ellie Trinkle '26 (she/her) is the Senior Arts and Culture Editor.
She previously served as a News Editor and Staff Writer. She is a Film & Creative writing double major from Brooklyn who loves all things art. You can typically find her obsessively making Spotify playlists, wearing heaps of jewelry, or running frantically around campus.
